Dr. Ahmed G. Abo-Khalil

Electrical Engineering Department

Computer cluster

A computer cluster consists of a set of loosely connected computers that work together so that in many respects they can be viewed as a single system.

The components of a cluster are usually connected to each other through fast local area networks, each node running its own instance of an operating system.
Computer clusters emerged as a result of convergence of a number of
computing trends including the availability of low cost microprocessors,
high speed networks, and software for high performance distributed computing.

Clusters are usually deployed to improve performance and availability
over that of a single computer, while typically being much more
cost-effective than single computers of comparable speed or
availability.

Computer clusters have a wide range of applicability and deployment,
ranging from small business clusters with a handful of nodes to some of
the fastest supercomputers in the world such as the K computer.